Gaius had arranged for Livia to discuss her match papers on Tuesday morning. Livia was nervous but hopeful about the situation. Some doubts she had about being with Corvin were valid, but they felt more like obstacles than traps. She could figure out how to make things work. She would attend this meeting with Gaius, and the match papers would work out. She imagined things would require effort and work, but Livia wasn’t afraid of work. Livia excelled at hard work.

The House Lawyer was there when Livia arrived. Gaius introduced him as Leon from Lupus House. The man was round and had a balding head, but he had a laid-back air that gave her an impression of friendliness.

Livia greeted him with a handshake. “Nice to meet you.”

“I’ve heard the Illegitimacy clause is giving you fits.”

“Let’s see what you have, Livia,” Gaius requested.

Livia handed over the papers the secretary had printed out for her. Gaius accepted them. His eyes scanned over the words once, then a second time. Displeasure crossed his face.

“Livia, I’d much rather you discard this. I don’t think Corvin will agree to it,” Gaius said.

Leon’s eyebrow rose. “Surely, they aren’t that unreasonable.”

He took the papers from Gaius’ hands. As he read them, his eyebrows shot up. His eyes lifted to Livia in surprise. Then hurried down to the paper again. “Bold,” he muttered. Then he chuckled.

“You don’t think Corvin will agree to them?” Livia asked.

“No,” Gaius shook his head. “They’re barely legal. They won’t let you get away with being the sole decision maker in these matters—”

“Barely legal is an exaggeration,” Leon interrupted.

Gaius glared at the man. Livia watched the exchange with a feeling of unease. Gaius was trying to manipulate Livia into changing the papers with falsehoods about their legality? What was going on here? Livia had assumed she could trust Gaius, but now she wondered, could she? And if he were untrustworthy, was it out of incompetence or malice?

“I won’t submit them to Lars this way. Rewrite them.” Gaius pushed the papers back across the desk and stood, leaving the room.

Confused and distraught, Livia stood alone with Leon. “What am I supposed to rewrite them to?”

“Yes.” Leon mused. He looked disturbed by the way Gaius had walked out. “He was not very helpful.”

Livia huffed, feeling frustrated. “I’ve spent hours trying to figure out the illegitimacy clause. I feel like Gaius wants me to leave it out. But…why would he want that?” Livia asked.

“Because by default, he’s awarded custody of any illegitimate children in the House that aren’t protected by a marriage or matched contract.”

Livia blinked. “What?”

“This clause ensures your parental rights to the child. If you discard the clause, you’ll lose those rights.”

That still didn’t make sense unless Livia was pregnant and Gaius wanted her child. However, Livia wasn’t pregnant—oh no. Her mother called Lucas and Hyrum and told them she was pregnant. Did she contact Gaius too?

Livia sighed in frustration. The situation was ridiculous. She could prove she wasn’t pregnant. Why couldn’t Gaius just talk to her? She suspected he wouldn’t discuss the situation with her because he didn’t want Livia to know until afterward that he’d legally stolen her child. Livia realized Gaius was neither a good person nor someone she should trust.

“So,” Livia drawled. “He could feign incompetence for an entire pregnancy to claim custody.”

Leon’s eyebrows shot up. “Pardon me, but I must ask. Are you expecting?”

“No, I am not,” Livia said. “But if he thought I was? He could deliberately sabotage me.”

Leon’s eyes narrowed. “He could. But would he? Most Patres Familiae prioritize marrying unwed mothers as quickly as possible. So they don’t have to accept responsibility for another child.”

Livia hoped she was wrong about what Gaius was up to, but all it would take was a single pregnancy test to get him back on task if that was the case. She needed to work on the other side of the problem right now.

“Let’s forget about that for now,” Livia snapped. “I’ll deal with Gaius later. Do you think Corvin will reject it like Gaius said?”

Leon explained, “This is a bold negotiation from a Patrician woman, which is rare. Gaius’ concern that Lars and Corvin won’t sign is valid. However, we can send it to them informally under a negotiation preview to ask for feedback. That’s rarely done for match contracts, but it is standard for betrothals and marriage contracts. The move would show a degree of deference and consideration that would be rewarded.”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“Do you think Gaius would agree to that?” Livia asked. She would have to figure out a way to work around him now.

Leon folded his hands together and rocked back on his heels. “In traditional cases, a woman would have her patron submit the preview on her behalf. A Paterfamilias doesn’t initiate previews except for his own children. It’d be irregular for Gaius to do so for you. He may consider it illegal, but it is only a matter of precedent.”

Livia’s brain was trying to keep up with all the details. “So you’d advise me to pursue this negotiation through Justin Aurelius, my patron.”

“Yes, Livia, that is in your best personal interest,” Leon said.

A rush of relief flowed through Livia. She could trust Justin! She might have found the perfect way to solve the problem. She’d get Justin to twist Gaius’ arm to sign papers with a proper illegitimacy clause.

Livia looked at Leon. It seemed he wasn’t on Gaius’ side. “You are not advising me to obey my Paterfamilias and rewrite my papers?”

“I’d advise you not to do that until you submit your papers for a preview and receive feedback,” Leon said. “And you should know that Lars and Corvin will reject a contract with no illegitimacy clause. Because it means that Gaius will have a legal right to Corvin’s children. So that is not an option. I will advise Gaius of that fact.”

Here it was: a clear example of how playing the rights of men off of each other gave Livia the power to negotiate her safety. She grinned. She wouldn’t have realized it without the lawyer’s help. How useless had Gaius been this entire time?

“Thank you,” Livia said.

“Do you also wish me to inform him of your intentions to submit a preview via your patron?”

“You’d do that for me?” Livia asked.

“Of course, it is my job,” Leon bowed his head.

Livia felt relief pour through her. “Thank you, I’d appreciate that. He is not very helpful.”

“Well, I am always here to answer questions. So shoot me an email any time, and I’ll respond within 24 hours,” Leon said.

Livia’s suspicion automatically reared its head. Was he being too friendly? The right amount of friendly? She couldn’t tell; dread settled into her belly with a vengeance. Was he telling her to do the wrong thing? Would it get her in trouble?

Livia put a hand over her belly, nauseated at the intensity of her feelings. Her fear could stop this whole process. She could tell Leon she’d talk to Gaius privately and try to work things out. She’d prove she wasn’t pregnant, and then he would sign papers with an illegitimacy clause. But she thought Gaius would respond poorly to that. He’d already proven he couldn’t be trusted to respect Livia’s rights. Now that Livia understood that, it was time to find new allies. Besides, she trusted Justin more than Gaius or Leon, the Lawyer.

“Can you prepare the papers for a preview and send them to me so I can hand them off to Justin?”

Leon nodded. “Yes. I will email you the moment they are complete. Indeed, can I send them to Justin at the same time I notify you they are done?”

“I’d prefer that,” Livia agreed. “If it’s allowed.”

“Indeed. It is.”

Livia left the House office feeling like she needed a second opinion. She walked down the hall and hovered outside the door of Lupus House offices. Should she go in and tell them how unhelpful Gaius was being? That she suspected him of not protecting her interests? That she had no idea what she was doing? That she relied on the advice of a random lawyer she had met less than an hour ago? That she didn’t know if she could trust Gaius? Would Justin advise that? Is that how she requested cooperation on this issue? It sounded terrifying to put herself at their mercy that way.

Livia looked up and saw Salina walking down the hall toward her. There was something off about her appearance that Livia couldn’t put her finger on. She didn’t usually wear that style of shirt. Though, maybe that was to hide how much weight she’d gained.

She recalled what Justin said about the TARP position being toxic for Salina. Livia did not feel any smugness over that point. Being a TARP intern was not for the faint-hearted. But she’d found that the friendships and connections she’d made in the position more than made up for the difficult aspects of the job. It was one of the few times Livia had felt completely emotionally supported. It had taught her a lot and helped her grow and heal tremendously.

Salina frowned and stopped when she saw Livia. “Corvin invited you to our meeting?”

“There’s a meeting?” Livia asked.

Salina looked smug. “Did I mention a meeting?” she asked airily.

Livia rolled her eyes.

“Livia, is that you?” Corvin asked behind her.

Livia turned. Lars stood beside Corvin, grim-faced. She asked, “You’re meeting with Salina?”

“She requested in a manner that made it impossible to refuse,” Lars said.

Livia remembered Corvin explaining that technicality of Patrician politics once. “Ah, I see.”

“Is there something you need?” Lars asked.

“Me?” Livia asked in surprise.

“Usually, you don’t wait at the door of the office of the Paterfamilias unless you need something,” Corvin prompted.

“Oh,” Livia shook her head. She couldn’t confide to them with Salina looking over her shoulder. “I was just with Gaius and…thinking. I’m fine. Mostly. Mostly fine.”

Livia bit her lip to stop her babbling and looked away. “I’ll let you attend to your business.”

“Perhaps we could ask you to stay and speak with us after Salina’s meeting,” Lars suggested.

Livia hesitated. She wanted to say yes. She gathered her courage and opened her mouth to agree. But Salina stepped past Livia, interrupting her. Salina’s hands curved over her rounded belly. Livia’s eyes widened. Salina didn’t look like she’d simply gained a few pounds. She looked pregnant. Indeed, Salina was sending Livia a message with her glance.

“I’m sure Livia has other things to do,” she said.

“Are…you pregnant?” Livia was shocked that the words had come out of her mouth. But she didn’t react very well to the surprise.

Salina frowned. “That’s very rude.”

Livia shrugged and tried to salvage her pride by playing it cool. “Turnabout is fair play, isn’t it?”

Salina lifted her chin. “You can’t embarrass me. Being pregnant makes me a very desirable match in Caesarea.”

Both Corvin and Lars gasped. Livia looked at the horror on their faces and decided that Salina might be overplaying her hand.

Livia looked back at Salina. “You say that, but the fact that you’re mentioning matches tells me that the father didn’t want you—”

“Livia,” Lars breathed, aghast.

The back of Livia’s neck burned with shame, but she kept her eyes level with Salina’s gaze.

“That’s because the father doesn’t know,” Salina gave a sly look in Corvin’s direction. “But he will soon, and everything will be settled.”

Livia looked between Corvin and Salina. Corvin had a puzzled look on his face, but Livia assumed that it was an act. Her stomach fell straight to her toes, and she grew light-headed. She hadn’t been dating Corvin long. He might have hooked up with Salina months ago, judging by the size of Salina’s belly. Maybe even before school started.

Livia gave Lars a wide-eyed look and then ran. Her feet moved without her asking them to, and she couldn’t stop if she wanted.

“Livia!” she heard Corvin yell. “Livia, wait!”

“Corvin,” She heard Lars’s firm voice say. “Let’s sort this out first, and then we’ll deal with Livia.”